Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / April 29, 1981, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE 2 THE TWIG APRIL 29. 1981 Editorial Page Editorial Page Students campaigning to save student aid Dear Campus Newspaper Editor: My name is Steve Leifman and I am the National Director of the National Coalition of Independent College and University Students (COPUS). I am writing to describe the desperate situation which now confronts all students presently receiving financial aid. The Reagan Administration is attacking financial aid programs on two fronts: Fiscal Year ’81 shortfalls and Fiscal Year ’82 cutbacks. The proposals threaten to deliver a devasting blow to students throughout the country. The Reagan Administration is trying to create a feeling that a “safety net” will prevent any of those in need from losing out on their opportunity to gain a higher education. U is vitally important that students recognize that there are gaping holes in this net. The American Council on Education estimates that the proposals will force 500,000 to 700.000 students to drop out of school and that another 300.000 to 700,000 students will be forced to go to lower priced institutions. For ,FY ’81, the Administration has proposed limited supplemental funding for the Pell Grant program (Basic Educational Opportunity Grant) which would eliminate benefits to approximately 200,000 students presently in the program and reduce the maximum award from $1,800 to $1,750. For FY ’82 the Administration is proposing to eliminate 600,000 students from the Pell Grant program by changing the eligibility formulas, which in effect will repeal the Middle Income Student Assistance Act (MISAA), passed only two years ago. In addition, the present budget shortfall in the National Direct Student Loan (NDSL) program of $100 million will force some 135,000 students with documented need out of the program. The rationale for such a proposal is far from obvious. At a time when banks are substantially raising interest rates and reducing consumer credit, the Administration is proposing to have 135,000 needy students go out and get a Guaranteed Student Loan. If banks do not lend to students (which has begun to happen) or if the student has already reached the maximum Dear Meredith Community Dear Meredith Community, As many of you may have noticed, graduation weekend has undergone a few changes from past years. We anticipate these changes as improvements that will provide a time for sharing final days at Meredith with our friends, families, and the Meredith Community. The Senior Baccalaureate Service will be held on Wednesday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. By using this final worship hour for the Baccalaureate Service, we lo(^ forward to ending the year in Christian service and fellowship with our friends and loved ones in the Meredith Community. This will be a very special time because many underclassmen, faculty, or administration that might not be present during graduation weekend services will have the opportunity to share this special event with the Senior class. Therefore, I would like to encourage everyone to make a special effort to attend this Baccalaureate Service in honor of the Senior class. Our speaker, Rachael Richardson Smith, should provide a stimulating message that will be of great benefit to everyone attending. I hope everyone will make plans to be here for Class Day Exercises on Saturday, May 16th at 4:00 p.m. I especially encourage all sophomores to make every effort to be here to make the daisy chain and the ceremony. It is a special time that you will always value. A music concert will be given at 8:00 p.m., and the graduation ceremony will be Sunday, May 17, at 10:00 a.m. The change in time of graduation should promote a much more relaxed, enjoyable day and will allow for a time of spiritual devotion and intellectual stimulation. The next few weeks are very special ones for Seniors as we leave behind many wonderful, special memories of Meredi^ and pursue varied pathways and lifestyles. We would like to thank you, the Meredith Community, for helping to make the past four years a time in our lives we shall always hold dear in our hearts. Although this is an emotional- ■time, we leave Meredith with experiences that will enable us to strive for and accomplish our highest goals and aspirations. We look forward to many challenges but always in our hearts, “we love Meredith, and that means you!” Hope to see you at Baccalaureate and Graduation weekend! With sincere affection, Jackie Revels President, Class of 1981 To the editor To the Editor: I wish to thank Sonya Ammons, the former editor of The TWIG, and the newspaper staff for placing notices of the cherry tree program in the paper. And I would like to express my thanks and those of many people who have spoken to me about how beautiful the cherry trees were this spring to the Meredith students and friends who supported the project by contributing a cherry tree to Meredith. In the last two years, 50 Japanese cherry trees have been planted along the drive in front of Johnson Hall for all of us at Meredith to enjoy. Mr. Adams and his staff have done an excellent job of planting and caring for them; thanks to their labors and the generosity of the contributors of these tr^s, Meredith is, I think, growing more attractive all the time. Cordially, Donald C. Samson by Ann Stringfield Several years ago, my mother started to read J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. She never finished it because she thought it was trash. A few weeks ago I pointed out to her that she could not judge a book she’d never finished. She agreed. I also told her she couldn’t judge Holden Caulfield by values which are alien to him. She's still working on that one, but I have high hopes for my mother because she does try to live in the real world. I have little hope, however, that the Moral Majori' ' wi!' ever come to grips with reality. Last week, the North Carolina Moral Majority published a list of “objectional” books. On the list are Catcher in the Rye, Blume’s Forever, Parks’ The Learning Tree, Altman’s Kiss Daddy Goodbye and several textbooks. The Moral Majority objects to these lx>oks because they are “light on literary value,” “heavy on filth and trash” or “sexually explicit.” The problem is that these books reflect reality. The Moral Majority does not want people to understand or relate to reality. They want people to shelter themselves from sex, violence and borrowing limit under the GSL program, then these students will have no other source of funding with which to attend college next Fall. If students are fortunate enough to find available loans, not only will the students pay more money but, the special allowance paid by the government to the banks will force the government to pay substantially more than would be the case had those students received NDSL’s. The administration is also attempting to eliminate 40 percent of the current GSL recipients by: 1) forcing parents under the new parental loan program to pay the market rate (rather than a government subsidized rate); 2) substantially shifting the burden of cost onto students by requiring the borrower to repay the interest (which would accrue) while attending school (an increase of 27 percent to 40 percent debt on your GSL); 3)'granting loans on a “remaining need” basis. In its current form, this proposal will make it nearly impossible for banks to-lend a GSL. The Administration ^Iso proposes to eliminate Social Security benefits to students, claiming that students will make up this monetaiy loss through current financial aid programs. The chances of students successfully doing this, are impossible, since all. financial aid programs are being cut. Finally, the proposed tuition tax credit is an inefficient program which would cost the Treasury 4 to 6 billion dollars while denying sufficient aid to needy students. All students need to be alerted to these proposals which threaten to* deny them access and choice to higher education which they presently enjoy. To do this we are urging students to implement campuswide campaigns to save student financial aid. We are urging students to do the following: 1) Student Government President should send letters to students, parents, and alumni, asking them to write their Members of Congress. 2) Ask their Administration to request that all teachers read a letter (written by a student) to the students in each of their classes informing them about the proposed cuts. 3) Invite Members of Congress to come to your campus and participate in forums to discuss the proposed cuts. 4) Inform students about the cuts thru the use of school newspapers and radio. 5) Generate grass-roots participation on your campus,. thru letter writing campaigns and petititions. Also, Congressman Peyser has sent radio tapes to several schools which can be played at your local radio station. + + +PLEASE REALIZE THAT GRASS-ROOTS PARTICIPATION ON YOUR CAMPUS IS THE ONLY CHANCE WE HAVE TO FIGHT THE PROPOSED CUTS. Time is running out. Students must act immediately. The Senate has already adopted the Administration’s proposed $ cuts and the House of Representatives will be voting on their Budget Committee’s report after their recess (around April 30th). The House Budget Committee has rejected most of the Administration’s proposed cuts for student aid. Back here in Washington, we have organized a National Student Briefing Day for April 13th. We expect well over 1,000 students from around the country to attend. If you would like more information about the proposed cuts and what students can do, please write: COPUS, 1730 Rhode Island Ave.. N.W.. Suite 500, Washington. D.C. 20036. Thank you very much for your interest and concern. Good luck. Sincerely, Steve Leifman National Director Decline ahead in housing Stringspeak: Moral Majority profanity. They are creating utopian images in the minds of the unwary. So what’s wrong with that? It is a lie. The world is sensuous, violent and profane. People love each other and they have sex. People kill each other. There are wars and rapes. There is gutter language spoken by people who have never -learned to express themselves in a genteel manner because that have not led genteel lives. There are children who are born drug addicts and alcoholics. You can close your (Continued on Page «) by M. Bruce Johnson M. Bruce Johnson is Research Director for the' Pacific Institute for Public Policy Research in San Francisco. This article Is adapted fro the Pacific Institute’s forthcoming book, Resolving the Housing Crisis: Government Policy, Decontrol, and the Public Interest. (c) Public Research, Syndicated. I98i In recent years we have seen the prices of single family dwellings, the inflation driven mortgage rates, and the down payments required from first time homebuyers all soar to unprecedented heights. From 1970 to 1980, the median price of homes nationwide galloped from $23,000 to $63,000. This represents an increase of 170 percent, as exposed to an increase in the general Consumer Price Index (CPI) of about 9! percent. While all American homes were increasing in price by 170 percent, California homes were mushrooming in value by 265 percent. In California the medium home price rose from $26,000 in 1970 to $100,000 in 1980. The price of an average California home was only about 15 percent above the national average in 1970, while today it is over 50 percent higher. Many fear that the policies that have led to the housing crisis in California are now being adopted across the U.S. A recent survey by the Los Angeles Times found that, in the Southern California area, young married families with two wage earners are generally able to afford their home today only if their parents give them the down payment. As recently as 1970 a clear majority-54 percent-of Los Angeles city renters could afford to purchase a home. By 1979, the city’s Community Development Department found that only 16 percent of these tenants had any real hope of ever purchasing their own home. Incredibly, in less than one decade, we have (Continued on Page 6)
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